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2010/11 Colorado Avalanche Predictions – Odds – Season Preview

Shea Matthews weighs in with his 2010-2011 Colorado Avalanche Season Gambling Picks and NHL Preview, plus he provides the lastest NHL odds, Avalanche future lines, and Stanley Cup predictions…

2010-11 NHL Predictions/Previews: Colorado Avalanche

CappersPicks.com NHL Betting and gambling site provides the BEST Online hockey predictions for you to bet on for the 2010/11 NHL hockey season! Stick with us all season long!

COLORADO AVALANCHE
Stanley Cup odds: +4000

To describe the Colorado Avalanche’s 2009-10 as “ahead of schedule” would be an understatement. The summer prior, they found themselves at the bottom of the Western Conference, picking Matt Duchene third overall in the 2009 entry draft. They were a young, rebuilding team with a long way to go before becoming remotely competitive again.

Or so we thought. The Avs were a huge surprise last season, rising from the ashes to reach the playoffs and even make San Jose sweat in the first round.

The youngsters gelled quickly and Craig Anderson was amazing in net.

The question this year is whether not the Avs have set the bar too high. The St. Louis Blues were the big surprise two years ago and slid back out of the playoffs last season.

Could Colorado meet the same fate?

Arguably, Colorado exploded for two reasons last year: their forwards’ unexpectedly rapid maturation and Craig Anderson.

Colorado knew it had a few solid NHL vets up front entering last season. Paul Stastny flies under the radar but he’s solid playmaking center who still has room to grow. He’s topped 70 points in three of his four pro seasons and is still just 24 years old. Cagey Milan Hejduk keeps chugging along at age 34; he has 10 straight 20-goal seasons.

But no one expected Stastny and Hejduk to get so much help so quickly. Duchene became a solid two-way center immediately, hitting 55 points. Funnily enough, some scouts though that was his career ceiling. Chris Stewart also became a vital offensive contributor. The power forward and former first-rounder potted 28 goals and was better than a point-per-game player after the All-Star Break.

He looks like next Jarome Iginla or Bill Guerin. Peter Mueller also looked great after coming over in the Wojtek Wolski trade but is dealing with concussion problems right now.

Anderson was probably the biggest surprise of all. In his first true crack at being a starting goaltender, he won 38 games and had seven shutouts with a .917 save percentage.

It doesn’t seem like he can repeat those numbers – most goalies don’t have their first big season at age 29 – but people felt that way about Tim Thomas before he won a Vezina Trophy.

If Colorado has a weakness, it’s defense. In Scott Hannan, Adam Foote, John-Michael Liles and Kyle Quincey, the Avs have plenty of capable minutes eaters. But they seriously lack a true offensive force and a shutdown guy to play against opponents’ top forwards.

Colorado essentially stood pat this offseason. While its young forwards could keep growing, Anderson and the “D” could regress. For that reason, I wouldn’t expect an improvement over last year. Another dogfight for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West seems likely.

However, as the Blues learned, the Avs could just as easily flip spots and wind up outside of the playoff picture if things don’t break their way this season.

2011 PRESEASON SCHEDULE

SEPTEMBER OPPONENT TIME (ET)
Thu, Sep 30 at Dallas 8:30 PM
Sat, Oct 2 at Los Angeles 9:00 PM

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